1996 United States Senate election in Alabama
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 County results Sessions: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Bedford: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Alabama |
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The 1996 United States Senate election in Alabama was held on November 5, 1996. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Howell Heflin decided to retire. Republican Jeff Sessions won the open seat, becoming only the second Republican popularly elected to the U.S. Senate from Alabama since Reconstruction.
Background
In the 1968 presidential election, Alabama supported native son and American Independent Party candidate George Wallace over both Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey. Wallace was the official Democratic candidate in Alabama, while Humphrey was listed as the "National Democratic".[1] In 1976, Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter from Georgia carried the state, the region, and the nation, but Democratic control of the region slipped after that.
Since 1980, conservative Alabama voters have increasingly voted for Republican candidates at the Federal level, especially in Presidential elections. By contrast, Democratic candidates have been elected to many state-level offices and, until 2010, comprised a longstanding majority in the Alabama Legislature.
Three-term incumbent Howell Heflin decided not to seek re-election. A 75-year-old moderate-to-conservative Democrat, Heflin was re-elected in 1990 with over 60%. Until 2017, Heflin remained the last member of the Democratic Party to win a Senate seat in Republican-turning Alabama (his colleague, Richard Shelby, elected twice as a Democrat, switched to Republican in 1994 and still remains in the Senate).
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Roger Bedford, State Senator
- Marilyn Q. Bromberg
- Glen Browder, U.S. Representative since 1989
- Natalie Davis, professor of political science at Birmingham-Southern College[2]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Roger Bedford | 141,360 | 44.77% | |
| Democratic | Glen Browder | 91,203 | 28.89% | |
| Democratic | Natalie Davis | 71,588 | 22.67% | |
| Democratic | Marilyn Q. Bromberg | 11,573 | 3.67% | |
| Total votes | 315,724 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Roger Bedford | 141,747 | 61.59% | |
| Democratic | Glen Browder | 88,415 | 38.41% | |
| Total votes | 230,162 | 100.00% | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
- Jimmy Blake, Birmingham City Councilman
- Walter D. Clark, podiatrist and Vietnam veteran
- Albert Lipscomb, State Senator
- Sid McDonald, former State Senator
- Frank McRight, attorney and Democratic nominee for AL-01 in 1984
- Jeff Sessions, Alabama Attorney General
- Charles Woods, businessman and perennial candidate
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jeff Sessions | 82,373 | 37.81% | |
| Republican | Sid McDonald | 47,320 | 21.72% | |
| Republican | Charles Woods | 24,409 | 11.20% | |
| Republican | Frank McRight | 21,964 | 10.08% | |
| Republican | Walter D. Clark | 18,745 | 8.60% | |
| Republican | Jimmy Blake | 15,385 | 7.06% | |
| Republican | Albert Lipscomb | 7,672 | 3.52% | |
| Total votes | 217,868 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jeff Sessions | 81,681 | 59.26% | |
| Republican | Sid McDonald | 56,156 | 40.74% | |
| Total votes | 137,837 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Candidates
- Roger Bedford (D), State Senator
- Charles Hebner (NL), activist
- Jeff Sessions (R), Attorney General of Alabama
- Mark Thornton (L), economist
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jeff Sessions | 786,436 | 52.45% | |
| Democratic | Roger Bedford | 681,651 | 45.46% | |
| Libertarian | Mark Thornton | 21,550 | 1.44% | |
| Natural Law | Charles Hebner | 9,123 | 0.61% | |
| Write-in | 633 | 0.04% | ||
| Total votes | 1,499,393 | 100.00% | ||
| Republican gain from Democratic | ||||
See also
References
- ^ "1968 Presidential General Election Results - Alabama". Uselectionatlas.org. November 5, 1968. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
- ^ "Natalie Davis". Birmingham-Southern College. Archived from the original on November 16, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.